When Parker wants cereal in the morning, he doesn't just ask for the cereal by name, he also specifies that he wants it with milk, in a bowl, with a spoon. As in, "Daddy, I want Rice Krispies and milk and a bowl and a spoon." I'm not sure why he doesn't ask for a plate and fork with his dinner.
This morning he asked for cereal, and milk, and a spoon, and a bowl, and one strawberry. He was staring right at the new box of Joe's O's on the counter. Luckily we had strawberries.
Trying to understand the needs and wants of each of these children is pretty tough. So sometimes, I don't even try. Like today, at snacktime, when Parker told me that Lion wanted a regular glass of orange juice in the red cup, I just said, "OK!" And when Miranda came to me with a pair of pajama bottoms and wanted them draped around her neck, I said what the heck. Even Elizabeth thinks that's just wierd.
Liz's kids turn one on the 18th, but she had their party today for a whole host of reasons including the fact that Parker and Lincoln are having their party next week.
Once again, Liz's house was a delight as were her kids. I left my kids at home. Which was also a delight. In addition to cute clothes and fun toys, CJ and Sydney got some stylin' shoes! Happy Birthday girls!
Yes, Parker was in the picture. He wasn't thrilled about the whole thing, but didn't pitch a fit like his sisters.
And...the pacifier removal strategy worked like a charm. We are officially binkie free and loving it. The girls are even sleeping better. Yay!
The girls' favorite activity these days is having someone put a blankie on their head and then they walk around. They are quite proud and walk around the house like this for a long time.
*Blog courtesy of Michael who apparently invented the Blankie on the Head Game.
We bit the bullet tonight and took away the girls' pacifiers. We chose to do it now because they were becoming quite dependent on them, using them all the time. They would go into their room, look for them in the cribs and cry if they couldn't find them. They were no longer an soothing aid. They were a drug that they were jonsing for.
I had a feeling it would go very badly and when they cried for more than a few minutes at bedtime, I knew I was right. But then...the crying stopped before it hit 30 minutes. I don't want to jinx it, but it seems to be going well so far.
Last night when I went to visit Amity, I noticed a street in Alameda full of Christmas Lights. So tonight, after being indoors most of the day, I got the kids dressed and into the car and drove over to see the lights. It was quite a sight. After driving up and down the block, Parker asked to get out of the car. Although it was cold, dark and raining slightly, I couldn't resist. We strolled up the block a bit to check it out. Apparently, this street does this every year. Every single house was lit up. If you live in the area and want to check it out, the stree is Thompson at Fernside. Parker was much happier about it all than the pictures indicate. And so was Lion, who came along for the trip. (Ted is still on the outs.)
The kids and I went to visit Thomas Worthington today. Thomas is the second child of Mary and Travis. Mary went to B-school with me. Mary was looking for some babyfree time and I thought an outing to her big and toy filled house would be super. Thomas was delightful, but I spent most of the time trying to get Elizabeth off of the furniture. I was unsuccessful several times which resulted in her falling off glass tables, stairs, couches, train tables and other pieces. It wasn't pretty. Although Parker was in heaven with train tables, marble games, paper and pens, cars, books and everything else, he was disappointed it was raining and he couldn't try out the full size trampoline in their backyard. He said, "At our house the trampoline is inside. At Thomas's house, it's outside."
I think this video nicely sums up the three kids.
Miranda is memorized by the reading until she discovers a near by shoe and tries to put it on.
Elizabeth first eats a hanger and then tries to disrupt the reading.
Parker is utterly charming until something bugs him.
